Hard Work, Antidote To Poverty – Aregbesola
Governor of the state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has stated that hard work is the only antidote to poverty and the economic hardship the country is currently facing.
He said for government to have a meaningful impact on the masses, the government must seek for the benefits of the majority of the people which is why the present administration has deemed it right to establish the OYES scheme at the inception of the government.
The Governor was speaking yesterday in Osogbo after the endurance trek with members of the OYES cadets marking the first anniversary of the 2013/2015 batch which is the second batch and also the third anniversary of the OYES scheme in the state.
He held that motivation to build a strong economy and at the same time engage the jobless youths meaningfuly is the reason why the present administration in the past three years has been doing what no government has ever attempted in the history of the country.
The Governor stated further that the administration ,which is people -friendly ,has decided to keep its promise of taking away the misery of powerlessness and the pain of idleness away from the youths of the state stressing that it is because of the commitment to this promise that the government has spent about N9 billion into the OYES scheme in the past three years.
Ogbeni Aregbesola ,who declared that the administration and the people of the state are proud of the services of the youths in the state ,promised that the state government will continue to strive to be able to meet the financial needs of the scheme noting that the monthly stipend being paid to the youths has gone a long way in boosting the economy of the state.
While urging the youths to continue with the good work they are doing in the state, the state helmsman emphasised that it is better to be engaged in dignified labour than to do anything that will bring disrepute and abuse to an individual while promising the cadets that their outstanding allowances will soon be paid.
In a remark, the state Commissioner for Youths, Sports and Special Needs, Mr Stephen Kola Balogun stated that the issue of youth empowerment as a way out of economic lock jam is now a worldwide phenomenon.
He stressed that the present administration has spent so much on youth empowerment which has been immensely successful while charging the cadets to make the best of the opportunity by ensuring that they are empowered before their exit period.
In a goodwill message, the Executive Secretary, Osogbo Local Government, Hon. Isiaka Faramade expressed appreciation to the government of Ogbeni Aregbesola for touching the lives of youths in the state through the OYES scheme.
Earlier in welcome address, the OYES Commandant, Col. Eniibukun Oyewole (rtd) stressed that the programme has come to stay, noting that the youths will not remain the same by the time they are exiting from the scheme.
While explaining that there is a difference between empowerment and employment, the retired colonel emphasised that the state government is ready to empower them to be employers of labour themselves.
The Governor, Deputy Governor, members of the state Executive Council and OYES cadets from Osogbo and Olorunda Local Governments had earlier took part in an endurance trek amidst cheers from members of the public from Oke Ayepe through station road before terminating at the freedom park in Osogbo.
OSUNNEWS